Despite not having a current NFL franchise, Montreal boasts a unique and unexpected connection to the Super Bowl.
As pointed out on Monday in an X post from Jared Book, the deputy editor of Habs Eyes on the Prize, a fascinating trend has emerged regarding the city’s personal connections to starting quarterbacks in the NFL’s biggest game.
In fact, since 2001, a former Montreal Expos draft pick, the son of a former Expos player, or member of the Montreal Alouettes has taken to the field as the starting quarterback in 14 out of the last 24 Super Bowls.
That includes this year’s showdown.
Since 2001, a former Montreal Expos draft pick or a son of a former Expo or Montreal Alouette has been the starting QB in 14/24 Super Bowls, including this year.
— Jared Book (@jaredbook) January 29, 2024
Let us explain.
NFL star Tom Brady was famously drafted by the Expos in 1995. Meanwhile, Jared Goff’s father, Jerry, and Patrick Mahomes’ father are both former players of Montreal’s now-defunct MLB franchise.
Mahomes’ dad, Pat, may have never suited up for a game with the Expos, but he was signed to their minor-league affiliate, the Edmonton Trappers.
Then there’s Joe Burrow, who, back in November, donned his father Jim’s old Alouettes jersey before Montreal took home the 110th Grey Cup.
Looking at every Super Bowl matchup over the past quarter century, we can see that Montreal connections are all over the place, especially in the finals of the 2018 and 2020 seasons, when both QBs had Expos ties.
The following table shows that Brady makes up a large chunk of the pattern, but still… it’s pretty wacky.
| XXXVI | 2001 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | Kurt Warner | St. Louis Rams |
| XXXVII | 2002 | Brad Johnson | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Rich Gannon | Oakland Raiders |
| XXXVIII | 2003 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | Jake Delhomme | Carolina Panthers |
| XXXIX | 2004 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | Donovan McNabb | Philadelphia Eagles |
| XL | 2005 | Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers | Matt Hasselbeck | Seattle Seahawks |
| XLI | 2006 | Peyton Manning | Indianapolis Colts | Rex Grossman | Chicago Bears |
| XLII | 2007 | Eli Manning | New York Giants | Tom Brady |
New England Patriots
|
| XLIII | 2008 | Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers | Kurt Warner | Arizona Cardinals |
| XLIV | 2009 | Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | Peyton Manning | Indianapolis Colts |
| XLV | 2010 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| XLVI | 2011 | Eli Manning | New York Giants | Tom Brady |
New England Patriots
|
| XLVII | 2012 | Joe Flacco | Baltimore Ravens | Colin Kaepernick | San Francisco 49ers |
| XLVIII | 2013 | Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks | Peyton Manning | Denver Broncos |
| XLIX | 2014 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks |
| 50 | 2015 | Peyton Manning | Denver Broncos | Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers |
| LI | 2016 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | Matt Ryan | Atlanta Falcons |
| LII | 2017 | Nick Foles | Philadelphia Eagles | Tom Brady |
New England Patriots
|
| LIII | 2018 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | Jared Goff | Los Angeles Rams |
| LIV | 2019 | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs | Jimmy Garoppolo | San Francisco 49ers |
| LV | 2020 | Tom Brady | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs |
| LVI | 2021 | Matthew Stafford | Los Angeles Rams | Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals |
| LVII | 2022 | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs | Jalen Hurts | Philadelphia Eagles |
That brings us to this year, where Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will try to go back-to-back, taking on Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers.
And even though former NFLer and Quebec native Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff is no longer on the Chiefs, Montreal football fans may still have reason to favour one team.
Follow Channels and Categories